Justin Timberlake is one of five men featured in GQ’s Men of the Year issue. And the interview happened just as critics were eviscerating his movie Runner, Runner and Part 2 of The 20/20 Experience. You remember, don’t you?

Variety’s headline was “Why Justin Timberlake Should Stop Acting”.

Billboard’s told him to “leave his second half at home”.

And how did JT react to all of it?

Well, he had a tantrum. He bitched about the hate to the journalist. He whinged about how he was targeted unfairly:

“This face. This recognizable face that you work so hard to get—not because you want the recognition but because you know you're made to do it.” This face, he's saying, comes at a cost. “The movie didn't do well at the box office, so I should quit? Hold on a second. If I was somebody else, you wouldn't have said that. I have the number one album this week, and I shouldn't have released it? Come on, man. You sound like a dickhead.... It just shocked me because, like, you're trade magazines. None of your opinions count. And by the way, none of you can do it.”

When we first sat down, Timberlake seemed vulnerable. Confused, even. Now he's just pissed. He starts talking about Memphis, the place that he says defines him: “It's a struggling city with a defeatist attitude. I'm from this town, and I grew up with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder, so sometimes I find it funny that I've been able to acquire the patience it takes to be kind to people in our business. Because sometimes I just want to f-cking kill everybody.”

It happens almost every time, doesn’t it? The narcissism can’t help but reveal itself. Is it just Justin Timberlake who gets slammed when he puts out a bad project? Just him? Really? Ben Affleck, his costar in Runner, Runner, he didn’t get slammed for Gigli or Jennifer Lopez? Really? Brad Pitt wasn’t taking hits for World War Z before its release, really? Doesn’t Kanye West take hits all the f-cking time? Isn’t Miley Cyrus getting hit over and over and over again?

Here’s a boy who’s had it easy. And he’s coming with his complaints about how it’s hard out there for a Pipsqueak?

As IF, Pipsqueak. And Sit DOWN. Because if anything it’s been a whole lot of privilege and nothing else. Privilege and pop stardom is why Justin Timberlake is cast in movies – when he CAN’T ACT – over more deserving proper actors who’ve been busting their asses at restaurants in between auditions. Privilege is why Justin Timberlake escaped unscathed for pulling off Janet Jackson’s bustier at the Super Bowl.

Does Justin Timberlake really have any business being pissy about being targeted?

The fact of the matter here is that people are allowed to NOT LIKE his work. And this is exactly what George Clooney meant when he spoke about it with The Hollywood Reporter and ESQUIRE. You can’t enjoy the privilege and then turn around and take that privilege away from someone because you don’t agree with what they said about you.

The problem with most celebrities is that instead of actually using that feedback for reflection – and subsequent improvement – they often simply attribute it to jealousy and carry on celebrating themselves. After his rant against critics, JT calms down by reminding himself of how special he is. How passionate he is. How his passion drives him to be more, to do more, like work with the Coen Brothers which means he’s extra super awesome and fearless.

Of course he is.

Because being the best means believing you’re the best. Don’t get in his way.